This is Our Song
by daphne20850
Summary: Continuation of Camp Rock 2! This follow's Mitchie's senior year and what Connect 3 does when they decide to take a break from touring.  Smitchie, starts as Nate/Dana but Naitlyn at the end, and Jason/OC
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is the first time I've had the courage to write something and post it on here but I've been a reader for a long time. Let me know what you think guys. Any reviews are welcome, even those that say I suck!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Mitchie couldn't believe that another year at Camp Rock had come to an end. She felt as if it had flown by in the blink of an eye. Looking back, the one regret she had was not spending more time with Shane and her friends. She had become so wrapped up in the competition with Camp Star that she forgotten to enjoy her summer and time with her friends. Watching the video that the junior rockers had made was a little bittersweet because while she was happy that they had kept the camp open for them, she was disappointed that she had missed out on all of the activities that were on there.

The other campers might have been disappointed about not winning Final Jam and at the beginning so was she but they had all put their hearts and souls into that performance and she believed that that shone through. She also realized that not only were the odds stacked against them with all the money that Camp Star had but it was probably rigged too. When so many campers from Camp Star said that they wanted to switch to Camp Rock for next summer she remember smiling at Shane and thinking that all of their efforts to help Brown had paid off.

She was the last one to get to the mess hall for breakfast and slid into the spot beside Shane after grabbing some eggs. She said good morning and took the time to study the faces around the table. Sitting to her left, Shane looked disgruntled to be up so early and was downing his coffee with relish. On her right, Caitlyn had her nose in a new dance manual that a kid from Camp Star had given her last night. Jason, sitting across the table, was craning his neck to look outside the window because a bird was perched on the window sill. Nate, sitting next to him was texting someone furiously and had a goofy expression on his face, so she assumed it was Dana. Peggy and Ella, she noticed, were sitting with Barron and Sander at a different table listening to the boys rap.

"Ok how come this is the last day of camp and we're the only silent table? Are we so sick of each other that you can't wait to get rid each other?" Mitchie said playfully and that broke everyone out of their solitary pursuits.

"Oh no Mitchie that's not it at all, it's just that someone kept me up all night talking to their girlfriend on the phone. I'm just a little sleep deprived." Shane exclaimed, with a death glare at Nate. He then kissed the side of Mitchie's head and wrapped his arm around her.

"Really Nate? So you and Dana are hitting it off then?" Mitchie said in an excited voice.

"Yeah we are. We are an official couple as of last night at the camp fire. I asked her and she said yes." Nate said with a smile and faint blush on his face.

"You're an official couple? But what about her dad?" Caitlyn had asked a very perceptive question. Nate's face clouded and he scowled at Caitlyn.

Getting up from the table he said "I don't know why you have to go ruining how happy I am right now but we've decided to keep things between us for right now. So why don't you just mind your own business?" With that he left and slammed the door of the mess hall. Caitlyn just sat there perfectly still for a few seconds and then tears formed in her eyes. She quickly exited the same way Nate had before Mitchie could grab her.

Shane, Mitchie, and Jason just looked at each other in pure shock for another minute and then Shane broke it.

"Mitchie, you need to go find Caitlyn and make sure she is alright because she looked pretty bad. Jason and I will go find our brother and get him to go apologize."

"Thanks, Shane. You really are pretty amazing, you know that right?" Mitchie said as they stood.

"Hey, what about me?" Jason said.

"You're pretty amazing too, Jason." Mitchie told him with a smile and ran out to find Caitlyn.

The first place she looked was their cabin but that was a bust so she tried the dock and found Caitlyn looking out at the water.

Thankfully she had stopped crying but not knowing what to do Mitchie just wrapped her arms around her from behind and Caitlyn sighed.

"Are you ok Caitlyn?" Mitchie almost whispered.

"Yes and no. Yes, because I know I didn't do anything wrong and he was just being a jerk. But then no because I thought we were friends and I just asked him a question as a concerned friend you know? I don't know why he'd be such a jerk about it. Anyway, it's pointless because it's obvious we were never really friends." With that she broke away from Mitchie and started to walk towards the cabins.

Then, remembering something she turned around again and said "We need to finish packing Mitchie. We're leaving in like 3 hours."

Mitchie ran after her, her head buzzing with how she could refute Caitlyn's last statement and hoping that somehow Nate could fix this before they left.

Shane banged the door to their cabin open and Jason followed closely behind him to find Nate on his bunk with his guitar playing "Introducing Me" with a morose expression on his face.

"Are you out of your mind, man? Caitlyn was just asking you a question Nate. She was being a friend and you jumped down her throat." Shane exploded.

"You should have seen her face." Jason added softly.

Nate absorbed the information that his older brothers were telling him without raising his head and without any outward display of emotion. On the inside, though, he felt horrible. He really liked Caitlyn. They had become friends this summer and he knew that she had asked her question out of concern but it had hit a raw nerve and he had taken it out on her.

Last night when he had asked Dana to be his girlfriend Dana had immediately said yes but when he had brought up her father her smile had faltered. She had no problem standing up to him as long as Camp Star was beating Camp Rock but now her father was on a rampage and could not stand the mere mention of anything to do with the camp. So it was decided that their relationship would be conducted in secret until he cooled down and found something else to obsess about. He had told Dana that he had no problem with keeping it a secret for now but in truth it hurt and that's why he had snapped at Caitlyn today.

"What can I say? That my girlfriend doesn't want to tell her father about me? That that fact hurts? That Caitlyn's question made me think about that instead of how happy I am to be going out with the girl I've been pining after for all summer?" Nate's voice had progressively gotten louder during his rant and he was pacing the length of the cabin.

Shane and Jason were gaping at him wondering if Nate had been possessed by aliens or something because no way did Nate ever display this much emotion in such a short span of time.

"Well are you two morons going to catch flies with your mouths or are you going to give me some advice?" Nate exclaimed

"First of all, go apologize to Caitlyn and explain the situation as you explained it to us but maybe in a softer tone. Then secondly, I suggest you tell Dana that you mind that her Dad doesn't know that you two are dating." Shane said from where he was reclining on his bunk.

"I can't tell her that Shane. Yeah, I'm opening up and telling her my feelings but what if that's the deal breaker and she breaks up with me over it? I'd be devastated." Nate said. "I just got her to agree to go out with me."

"Well, take it from me these things have a tendency to build up until they come out anyway so you might as well just tell her now when it's a small issue. Later it might develop into a big one Nate." Shane advised him.

Surprisingly Jason chipped in "You can't always walk on eggshells around her." Shane was nodding his head while looking a little shocked that Jason could be so perceptive.

Ten minutes later Nate nervously knocked on the girl's cabin door and called out Caitlyn's name. He really wanted to apologize before they left and didn't have a chance to see each other again before next summer but he didn't want to do it in front of everyone else and he really didn't want to have to apologize over the phone because that would be way too impersonal.

Mitchie walked out of the cabin and said "She's in there alone. She's really hurt Nate." With that she left him there terrified.

Nate blew out a breath and made his way into the cabin to see Caitlyn putting her things into suitcases. She looked at him and then turned her back on him.

"Listen Caitlyn, I'm really, really sorry about this morning. I can't say enough how sorry I am." Nate exclaimed.

Caitlyn went on folding clothes. "Uh-uh. I'm sure you are. It's really no problem Nate. No need to worry about it."

Nate breathed a sigh of relief and gave her a hug even though she had yet to turn around to look him in the eye. "I can't tell you how happy I am that we're ok. Now I have to go see Dana before we leave. I'll see you later Caitlyn. Don't leave without saying goodbye okay?" And with that he was gone from the cabin.

"Goodbye" Caitlyn whispered with tears in her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Mitchie and Shane were hanging out at the docks, their feet lazily dangling over the edge caressing the water's surface. They were holding hands and talking about the summer and the coming year.

"I can't believe that I didn't spend any time with you this summer! Now I'm not going to get to see you and I'm kicking myself!" Mitchie said.

"It's okay. I told you that I found out everything I needed to find out. We spent a year talking on the phone and chatting on line. We sent each other emails. We can do it again." Shane tried to reassure her even though in his heart he wasn't so sure. How could he really go back to the way things used to be now that he knew what it was like to be with her for real?

As if she was reading his mind Mitchie said "But Shane after this summer how can we go back to emails and phone calls. I'm so used to having you nearby. Not to mention that kiss…" and that's where Mitchie's courage failed her.

"What about that kiss, Mitch?" Shane prodded.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing!" Mitchie exclaimed. And with that she got up and made to leave. She couldn't believe she brought that up. Yeah she had loved that kiss last night but it was totally spontaneous. He hadn't kissed her since and he'd had plenty of chances.

Shane got up with her and put her arms around her waist so she couldn't run away from him. When she still refused to meet his eyes, he let out a frustrated sigh and let her go. He wondered if maybe she hadn't wanted it to happen but that couldn't be because she had initiated it and it had been the best kiss of his life. Maybe she was trying to tell him that she had liked it but she was too shy to say it and had gotten embarrassed.

With a thousand thoughts buzzing around in his head and with Mitchie just looking at her feet with a blush on her face, Shane did the only thing that made sense to him at the time. He bent his head and raising her chin, kissed her again.

Mitchie thought she was going to faint as Shane's lips met hers for the second time. It lasted longer than their first kiss and all thoughts vanished from her head as Shane applied more pressure. When Shane finally lifted his head, Mitchie automatically reached for his hands to steady her because she wasn't sure that her legs would support her.  
"Wow" was her only statement.

Shane on the other hand was experiencing a strange bipolar reaction to the kiss, both on top of the world and in despair. He really did think that their first kiss was his best kiss but this one blew that one out of the water. He was so happy that he had gotten to spend the summer with Mitchie but he knew that he had to be in L.A. in a few hours and that hurt now. He wanted to spend more time with Mitchie. He wanted to take her on a date, hold her hand, be her boyfriend, without being hounded by paparazzi and fans.

"Hey you, where'd you go just now?" Mitchie whispered softly.

They were still standing on the docks and were half embracing.

"Oh, just thinking that I'm going to miss you when we have to leave today. It sucks that I have a girlfriend that I never have the chance to see. I'm not sure how I'm going to wait till next summer to kiss you again Mitch." Shane said bringing her into a hug.

Mitchie was now openly crying. "What are you guys doing this year anyway? Weren't you just on tour? Don't you have some down time that you can spend around Jersey?"

Shane laughed "You really don't understand the music business do you? I'll explain it some time. But we're actually recording another album in Los Angeles. It's going to take a couple of months because we haven't written any of the songs yet but then once it's out we go off touring again."

Mitchie practically panicked "If you start touring sometime next year, you won't have time to come back here again Shane!"

"Breathe, Mitchie, breathe. We'll figure everything out. You're my girlfriend. I won't spend another year away from you. Maybe I'll come see you at Christmas or something but we will definitely figure **something **out." Shane assured her.

Mitchie raised her head from his chest and gave him his favorite smile through her tears, the one that spread over her whole face, and the one that warmed his heart and made him believe that everything would be alright.

"Ok, come on we better get back Mitch. Everyone's going to be leaving soon and we should say goodbye." Shane said reluctantly. All he wanted to do was hold her in his arms and never let her go. With that they left the docks, hand in hand towards the main camp.

After leaving Caitlyn and Mitchie's cabin, Nate had taken a canoe to the other side of the lake to go see Dana for the last time. Just thinking those words in his head made his heart ache so he shied away from thinking about it until he absolutely had to. He hid his canoe in the bushes, called Dana on her cell phone, and told him to meet him in the same place they had met the last time he had a canoe. When she came she looked gorgeous and jumped into his arms looking so excited to see him.

"I'm so glad you came, Nate. I thought I wouldn't get a chance to see you before you left today and then who knows when I would see you, you know." She said.

"Yeah I know what you mean." Nate mumbled.

"Where are you going when you leave Camp Rock?" Dana asked.

"We're going to L.A. to record a new album but we haven't really had a chance to write any new songs so I don't know how long that's going to take." Nate explained.

"You're going to be THAT far away?" Dana exclaimed! "Wow! I didn't know. My dad and I live in New York." She said.

"I didn't know that" Nate mumbled again. He was freaking out on the inside and trying not to show it. He'd never really been in a relationship before and he really liked Dana. He wanted them to work out but this was like walking on a minefield. How did Shane and Mitchie make it look so easy?  
"There are a few important things we don't know about each other, huh" Dana said, smiling at him.

"Yeah, I guess so. But that's why we're dating, right? So we can find those things out?" Nate asked her.

"True. But dating is going to be a little hard when we're on opposite sides of the country." She pointed out.

Nate was getting a little pissed off and Shane's words were echoing in his head about not letting problems in the relationship build up. "Alright, you're right, but dating would also be hard if your dad doesn't know I'm your boyfriend." He said gently.

Dana's eyes opened wide and Nate could see she was shocked by his statement. She got up and went to the water's edge and looked at her reflection. "I'm sorry Nate. I know I should tell him and I will as soon I get up the courage. It's just that he's so mad right now about all the campers that switched to Camp Rock for next year. He said he's probably going out of business. I don't know how to tell him I'm dating the "enemy". But I promise I will and soon. I promise." With that she got up on her tippy toes and kissed him for the first time.

Nate was totally shocked for like 5 seconds and then he wrapped his arms around her and returned her kiss. It was short and sweet but he was a little disappointed if he was telling himself the truth. He was expecting fireworks to go off and all he felt was warmth and contentment. Maybe he had been hyping it up in his mind so much all summer that nothing could live up to those expectations.

"Wow" Dana said. She smiled up at him and he felt butterflies in his stomach. He was now sure that kissing her would just get better and better with time.

"I agree" He said and smiled back while stroking her hair. "Look I really wish I could stay but I need to go. We're leaving soon."

"Already?" Tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Yeah, but I promise to call you every day okay? And tell your dad whenever you can. No pressure from me. I promise." Nate told her.

With another chaste kiss, she watched him take the canoe out of the hiding spot and row it across the lake.

By the time that Nate got back and collected all his stuff from the cabin everyone was already gathered by the buses. He ran there and saw that everyone was hugging, exchanging numbers, and crying. He walked towards Shane, Mitchie, Jason, Peggy, Ella, Barron, and Sander. He immediately noticed that Caitlyn wasn't there because as counselors they always hung out together.

"Hey, Nate we were looking for you! Where were you? We're just leaving man" Barron and Sander said.

"I went to say bye to Dana. I got back as soon as possible." Nate responded. He then went to give them a hug.

Mitchie was crying as she hugged Barron and Sander goodbye and promised to keep in touch at least once a month. She knew, in theory, when she woke up that morning that it was the last day of camp but they were the first to go and it had just become reality.

"Hope to see you next year guys!" Peggy and Ella said simultaneously smiling at each other. "Mitchie, you better call us. We'll let you guys slide since you're pop stars and all" Ella said. Everyone laughed, even Mitchie who was still crying. Since both Peggy and Ella lived in L.A. they were being picked up together. After hugging the boys and tearfully saying goodbye to Mitchie, they left. Connect 3 and Mitchie were the only counselors left.

"Hey guys, where's Caitlyn?" Mitchie asked. "She missed everyone leaving!" With that, she started looking for her friend and found her surrounded by her dance students. She pointed her out to Shane who had his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Shane what's she doing over there?" Mitchie asked in bafflement.

"Well Jason already said goodbye to his junior rockers earlier as they were leaving. Maybe she's doing it right now and totally lost track of time." Shane explained.

"You're really smart for a pop star, I've got to give you that" and saying that Mitchie bolted out of Shane's arms and started running towards Caitlyn planning to use her as a shield.

"Hey, take that back" Shane yelled and chased after her.

Nate and Jason had twin looks of amusement on their faces as they watched and followed after their brother at a leisurely pace because they both wanted to see the outcome.

Caitlyn was doing her best to avoid Nate for the remaining few hours of camp so she was hanging out with her dance class. They were pretty great dancers and she liked them all but she felt guilty that she missed saying goodbye to her friends just because she was avoiding a jerk. So there she was talking about dance movies when all of a sudden she feels someone slam into her at full speed and spin her around.

"You (pant) have (pant) to (pant) protect (pant) me!" Mitchie got out while filling her lungs with much needed oxygen.

"Mitchie, what the hell's going on?" Caitlyn asked

"Step aside Caitlyn. I need to have a few words with my girlfriend." Shane came to a stop near her. Apparently he was in much better shape because he was barely out of breath.

"Okay, no! What's this about?" Caitlyn was extremely confused. How was it that she had become involved in their little flirtation when all she had wanted was as much distance as possible?

"Mitchie deflated Shane's enormous ego by suggesting that he's not the brightest bulb out there." Nate supplied helpfully from behind Shane, earning a scowl from Shane and a glare from Caitlyn who had just noticed him when he spoke.

As all this was going on and as Shane had turned his head to scowl at Nate, Mitchie stopped hiding behind Caitlyn and jumped Shane knocking him to the ground. "I win Pop Star! Never turn your back!" She then smiled his favorite smile and he was sure that he would let her win every time just to see that smile more often. How would he live without that smile?

"Ok stop with the goo-goo eyes guys. It's getting kinda creepy to tell you the truth!" Caitlyn said and broke the spell they were in and they realized they were sprawled all over each other and the remaining campers had a front row seat. They quickly scrambled to their feet and blushed when they saw that everyone was gawking at them.

"So, Caitlyn want to go to the docks with us?" Mitchie said hurriedly trying to break the awkward silence. She was embarrassed that everyone had seen her on top of Shane but at the same she wasn't very sorry because how many more moments like those would there be in the coming months.

"Umm…well….I would really love to…but I can't because my parents might be coming any minute now. I wouldn't want them to have to wait for me, you know?" Caitlyn said awkwardly, her usual graceful dancer's body in an unusually awkward position.

"Ok well that's fine, we'll wait with you." Nate said. He gave the others a glance and quickly got the impression that they thought that something was wrong with Caitlyn also.

"No!" the frost in Caitlyn's voice was unmistakable to Nate and he automatically realized that their conversation in the cabin had been anything but over when he had left. Before anyone could really say anything though Caitlyn's parents pulled up and he cursed their timing.

She picked up her bags with tears welling in her eyes, hugged Mitchie with tears in her eyes and said "I promise I'll call you the SECOND I get back ok?" and Mitchie nodded still really, really confused. Next, she hugged Jason and ruffled his hair. Finally she hugged Shane and whispered in his ear "You're really, really good for her" and Shane beamed which confused Mitchie even more.

Completely ignoring Nate, Caitlyn made her exit from Camp Rock.

As soon as Caitlyn was gone Shane rounded on Nate and practically yelled "I thought you took care of that Nate! You said you went to see Dana so I assumed you talked to Caitlyn first. I cannot believe." He was cut off by Nate who screamed right back  
"Shut up! Of course I saw Caitlyn first. She said it was no problem! She said not to worry about it! How was I supposed to know that she was still pissed off! Geez I don't speak girl!" Nate was getting more furious by the second. He had gone and apologized. She had said no problem. If she was still mad she should have told him instead of pulling the silent treatment.

"Hey!" Mitchie exclaimed! "For your information, she was really, really upset. Did you explain why you acted like a jerk, because she was questioning your entire friendship, Nate? She was being a friend and you told her to mind her own business." Mitchie could see this affected Nate. He obviously had not thought it was this bad and it was hitting him like a sledgehammer to the head. She felt really bad for being so harsh with him now and went to put her arms around him. As she did, Jason saw her intention and declared "Group Hug" and it became a Nate sandwich.

When he was free, he asked for advice on how to fix the mess. "She's a really good friend. I don't have many who like me for me and don't care about the fame and she really doesn't. Not once this summer has she made me feel like Nate Grey the member of Connect 3. While I'm on the topic, Mitchie you're another really good friend and I wanted you to know that. Even if you weren't dating my moron of an older brother you'd still be a friend." As he finished saying that Mitchie burst into tears and threw himself into Nate's arms.

Not knowing what to do with a crying girl in his arms, Nate patted her back and pleaded for help from Shane above her head. Shane took his girlfriend from his brother's arms while saying "Mitchie, baby, I think you're scaring Nate." He then proceeded to burst out laughing.

"Nate that was the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me." (Cough, Cough) "Correction, the sweetest thing you could ever have said to me. Better Shane?" Mitchie asked laughing.

"Better!" Shane said very seriously.

"And I think you should tell Caitlyn what you just told us Nate. She would appreciate it and if you told her why you snapped at her she would understand. She's very logical and rational." Mitchie said to Nate kindly and Nate nodded.

"I'll call her the second we land in L.A. Speaking of which, we better get going guys. When are you leaving Mitchie?" Nate asked Mitchie.

"My mom and Brown are discussing plans for next summer so I'm stuck here for at least another hour." Mitchie pouted.

"Ok well I'll say bye right now then. I'll call you all the time, ok? And whenever I see a bird I'll take a picture and text it to you ok?" Jason said excitedly.

"Ok, Jason. I'll do the same!" Mitchie said and hugged him. "I'm going to miss you!"

"I'll miss you too" Jason said and ran off.

"You shouldn't encourage him Mitchie. He'll just be more of a handful than usual." Nate said.

"Awww but he's so adorable you just can't help but love him Nate. I have to go along with whatever he wants." Mitchie was basically cooing.

Nate was rolling his eyes "Ok well, I'm going to miss you! I'll call you when I have the chance. Good luck with senior year." He then enveloped her in a hug.

"Thanks, Nate. I'm going to miss you too! And I'll call you too but I won't take up too much of your Dana time." Mitchie ribbed him.

"Thanks Mitch." He rolled his eyes some more and walked away.

"And then there was one." Shane said with unshed tears in his eyes. "I don't know I'm going to be able to do this Mitch." He said honestly.

"Please don't say that. You're really the strong one here because if it was up to me we'd stay rooted to this spot for the rest of eternity." Mitchie whispered with tears silently pouring down her eyes.

"I like that idea, actually." Shane laughed lightly. "Come here, you" he said and pulled her into a bone crushing hug.

"Promise me you won't get another girlfriend that can be with you all the time. Promise me Shane. Please promise me that you won't wake up tomorrow and realize that you don't want a girlfriend that's still in high school and still has one friend really. Please, please promise me that this is reality." Mitchie waited with baited breath for him to promise. She was more confident in herself now but this was still SHANE GREY and she needed to make sure that they were on the same page.

Shane was looking at her with a serious look on his face "Promise me YOU won't get another boyfriend that can be with YOU all the time. Promise me Mitchie. Please promise me that you won't wake up tomorrow and realize that you don't want a boyfriend who can never see you when he wants and can never really acknowledge you publicly. Please promise me this is reality." Shane was still looking at her seriously and waiting for her to say something.

"Shane, I want to be with you! I don't care if no one ever knows or if we never get the chance to see each other. I just want to know that you're mine and that I'm yours. One day we'll be able to spend every minute of every day together, I know it." Mitchie said looking up into his eyes.

Shane smiled "And I don't care if you're still in high school or if you have one friend or 1000, I just want to be with you. I want to wake up every morning and know that Mitchie Torres is my girlfriend and the only guy that has the privilege of touching her and kissing her is me." Shane then kissed her as if it was the last thing he would ever do. He even picked her up off the ground so she wasn't reaching up.

They were interrupted by Nate's yell for Shane to hurry up so Shane broke the kiss and looked down at her, kissed her nose, said "I'll miss you more than you'll ever know" and jogged away before she could even come down from the incredible high of the kiss he had just given her.

When she realized that she hadn't told him that she'd miss him, she took out her phone and sent him the following text:

"_Every time I hear, play, or think of music I'll be missing you!"_


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, thank you sooo much for the reviews and for reading my story you guys! It made me really happy that so many of you have alerted this story :) Just to say thank you I'm updating today even though I wasn't planning on doing so until Saturday.

Anyway, on to the story.

PS: still don't own any of this...although I wish I did!

* * *

As soon as Mitchie got home, she called Caitlyn so she could tell her to pick up when Nate called because she knew that Caitlyn would blow off his calls. However, when Mitchie called and Caitlyn was in tears she knew something else had to be going on because Caitlyn rarely every cried. Mitchie almost started crying on the spot herself because she knew that whatever Caitlyn was about to tell her would be on par with the Titanic sinking (okay, she was a teenager, she was allowed to exaggerate).

"Caitlyn, you're scaring me! You can't just keep crying. You have to tell me what's wrong!" Mitchie said in the most soothing voice she could muster.

"My dad got a promotion-"and a fresh batch of tears. Now Mitchie was confused. Why would someone cry over their own father getting promoted?

"Why are you crying over that? Shouldn't we be celebrating his promotion Caitlyn?" Mitchie tried to make sense of the conversation.

"No we should NOT!" Caitlyn almost screamed over the phone making it necessary for Mitchie to hold the phone away from her ear so her hearing did not become permanently impaired.

"Okay why? Can you explain it to me?" Mitchie tried again.

"Yeah, sorry, I've just been fighting with my parents since they told when I got in the car at Camp Rock so I'm frazzled. Anyway, he got transferred to Germany and I have to go do my senior year over there! Can you believe that? My senior year! I've been looking forward to this year forever and I have to go and be the new kid in a school that has no prom and has a dress code Mitchie! DRESS CODE!" She stopped ranting because she ran out of breath.

"That's totally unfair! Isn't there any way that you can stay here? Aren't there any relatives that you can live with for the year?" Mitchie threw out the only idea she could think of that would at least keep her on the continent.

"No, both my parents are only children and my grandparents are dead. Seriously I knew my parents and I didn't get along but I didn't know they actually hated me this much." She vented.

"Caitlyn! I doubt they hate you! They're your parents!" Mitchie said.

"Yeah, well you have the perfect mom and I'm sure the perfect dad so you wouldn't understand. Anyway, listen, I better go. I'll call you sometime this week. We don't leave until next Thursday." Caitlyn said despondently and hung up before she could say a word.

Mitchie had a thousand thoughts running through her mind trying to figure out what Caitlyn meant about the whole parent thing but that's when her mom called her down for dinner.

She was so distracted at dinner that she couldn't even remember later what they had had. Her parents noticed her odd mood and asked what was going on.

"Well Caitlyn's dad got a promotion so she has to move to Germany next Thursday" Mitchie explained.

Her mother, who was very perceptive when it came to her daughter, asked if that was the whole problem.

"Well I'm not really sure to tell you the truth. At the very end of the conversation Caitlyn said something really strange and before I could ask for an explanation she hung up on me." Mitchie said.

"What did she say? Maybe we can help." Connie suggested and Steve nodded.

"Well she said that she didn't get along with her parents but then she said that she didn't know that they hated her. Then she said that I wouldn't understand because I have these perfect parents, which I do, of course." I said with a smile. "I just feel like there was a story there."

"More than regular teenage angst, you mean?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, Caitlyn doesn't seem like the type you know?" I directed this to my mom because she knew her and could give a better grown up assessment.

"I agree with Mitchie. I don't think Caitlyn would intentionally fight or disobey her parents. She is very much like Mitchie, Steve." Connie told her husband.

"So what was she talking about Mom?" Mitchie said.

"I don't know mi hija, but you have to let Caitlyn come to you in her own time. You can't force someone to tell you their secrets. Trust is earned." Connie advised.

"Okay Mommy."

"I miss you!"

"Shane, it's been like, less than seven hours since the last time you saw me." Mitchie laughed.

"Hey, I'm now hurt. You don't miss me?" Shane demanded to know.

"Ok. Yes, I miss you, pop star!" Mitchie smiled as she looked at the ceiling of her room.

"What are you doing? Isn't it 9pm there?" Shane asked curiously.

"Yes it is and I was on my bed on my lap top but I'm now lying down looking at the ceiling. You?" Mitchie noticed a crack on the ceiling…random!

"Just landed so we're all in the limo, on the way to the hotel where we're all passing out. We have an early meeting with the record company tomorrow." Shane said.

"Nate and Jason are there? Really? Put me on speakerphone Shane! I want to say hi!" Mitchie said excitedly.

"No way, they're not encroaching on Mitchie time." Shane exclaimed with a smile on his face. He was actually really happy that his girlfriend got along so well with his brothers that she was so excited to talk to them…he just had to make a token refusal.

"Ok fine. I'll just hang up and call Nate. He'll put me on speakerphone." Mitchie then stuck out her tongue.

"Real mature Mitch." Shane said as he put her on speakerphone. "What?" she asked. "Oh the tongue thing! I so know you!" Shane said into the phone he was holding in the middle of the limo.

"Haha, sure you do pop star! Hi guys!" Mitchie exclaimed.

"Hi, Mitchie" Nate called.

"Hi, Mitchie! Did you get my bird photo? It was on the limo as we got off the plane!" Jason said excitedly.  
"Yeah, I did Jason. I really liked it. Thank you for sending it to me." Mitchie said. "Now, listen, guys. Caitlyn's dad is going overseas to Germany for some new job so she's leaving next Thursday. I don't know if you or Jason calls her Shane and I don't know what's going on with you Nate so I just wanted you guys to know." Mitchie finished her piece of news and the guys were silent.

Nate felt even worse now than he did before. If they weren't fighting he would be able to call her and offer a shoulder to lean on during the craziness going on and instead he was another headache heaped on her already apparently full plate. He could see that Shane and Jason were feeling pretty shitty about this bit of news too and he was a little surprised. He knew that they were friends with her and all that but he didn't know that they considered her a good friend.

Shane was the first to speak "Listen Mitch, maybe I wasn't very close to her at camp but I do genuinely really like her so I'm definitely going to give her a call."

"I'll call her too Mitchie. Maybe I can talk to her about the first few months on the road. That was definitely really hard but I adjusted." Jason said into the phone. Shane and Nate looked at each other as if to say 'who is this guy'.

"Thank you so much Jason. That's a really great idea." Mitchie smiled into the phone. Jason was an adorable goofball but once in awhile he surprised you with his perceptive comments.

"What about me, Mitchie? Should I call her or just leave her alone? I don't want to complicate her life more than necessary!" Nate was praying that Mitchie said call and his prayers were answered when she said that in her opinion Caitlyn needed all her friends around her now.

"Oh and Nate, don't forget to call Dana!" Mitchie said in a cutesy voice and she thanked her again because until that second, he had totally forgotten about her.

He heard Shane tell Mitchie that he missed her again and that he would call her again from his hotel room. He wondered why Dana wasn't constantly on his mind like she had been up until this morning and decided that it was because of this whole Caitlyn fiasco and once it was resolved Dana would be his priority again.

As they made into their individual hotel rooms breathing a sigh of relief because no screaming fans or paparazzi had found the hotel yet, Nate called Dana.  
"Hey Dana, I just called to tell you that we made it to L.A." Nate said.

"Hey Nate! I'm glad you made it in safe but I really have to go! My dad's here and he might get suspicious. I really miss you though." Dana whispered.

"Yeah, I miss you too." Nate responded but he was talking to a dial tone because she had hung up the phone. He sighed and wished that he had gotten to hear her voice more. He chucked the phone on the bed, frustrated, and went around the room unpacking. Once that was done, he settled in and called Caitlyn's number and crossed his fingers hoping that she would pick up.

"Yes, Nathaniel?" she responded groggily.

"Ouch, only my mother calls me that and only when I've done something SERIOUSLY wrong." Nate said jokingly.

"Yeah, and you've done something really WRONG right now too. You woke me up at midnight idiot. By the way, you did something idiotic and jerky earlier too but who's keeping score?" Caitlyn's was dripping in sarcasm.

Nate checked the time and couldn't believe that he had called her at midnight on the East coast. He really was an idiot! How could he not have checked the time before calling her?

"Ok listen, I'll call you tomorrow! We can talk then." Nate rushed his sentence out of his mouth. "Oh and I'm sooo sorry for waking you this late."

"No, we will not talk tomorrow Nate. Whatever I had to say to you I said at camp." Caitlyn explained and sighed.

"But you didn't say anything Caitlyn. You just walked away without a word to me and apparently told Mitchie that you considered this friendship over because I made one stupid error in judgment and snapped at you. I really don't understand that! I already apologized. What more do you need?" Nate was getting frustrated but trying to keep it in check because the last thing he needed to do was yell at her again and dig himself a deeper hole.

Caitlyn listened to the whole thing while tears just poured down her face and soaked her pillow. Was she being totally unreasonable? Was Nate right? He had snapped at her! He had basically told her that she had no right to go mucking around in his private life. Wasn't that justification enough to totally cut him off or did he deserve a chance to prove that it really was just an error in judgment?

"Caitlyn?" Nate broke into her train of thoughts wondering if she had gone to sleep on him and thinking that that was kind of sweet.

"Oh I'm here, I'm just thinking. Listen, it's been a really bad day and I just want to sleep on this. Mind if I give you a call tomorrow? I promise I will!" Caitlyn said sincerely.

"I'm going to be in and out of meetings with my record label all day. Mind if I call you?" Nate asked, hoping she would say yes.

"Sure, just check the clock before you do Nathaniel!" She giggled as she hung up and just like that Nate knew that they would fine. Knowing that put a smile on Nate's face and he went to bed really happy.

The next morning Mitchie woke up with Shane on her mind and quickly took her phone off the dresser to text him: "_Good morning! Hope your meetings go well today. Just texting you to tell you that I'm thinking about you__"_

Before she could even put her phone down he texted her back "_Thanks Mitch, buts it's like 6 AM here. No meetings yet. I'm always thinking about you though."_

"_Haha, sorry! Still not used to this whole time difference thing."_ Mitchie sent the text and got up from bed and decided to go downstairs to get breakfast. As she was entering the kitchen her phone rang and Shane was on the other end.

"Hey, pop star! Shouldn't you still be sleeping?" Mitchie asked.

"Nah, it's a good thing you woke me up. This might really be the only time we get to talk today because these meetings could last until really late and I can't go a day without talking to you."

"Shane, you can't say such adorable and romantic things when you're so far away. I can't hug you. " Mitchie whined.

"Well it's true. I can't! And hey, have you talked to Caitlyn at all since the last time, because I can't really call her today. I promise tomorrow though!" Shane sounded really guilty that he hadn't found time to call a friend in need and Mitchie found that really sweet. He cared about Caitlyn even though there were a million things on his plate already.

"Shane, relax. Focus on the stuff you have to do for the band today and then deal with Caitlyn tomorrow. I have her covered today. I'll keep her as calm as I can from about 500 miles away and if you want I'll send you a text telling you how she is." Mitchie told him.

"You're the best! Have I told you that recently?" Shane said.

"You don't have to Shane. We handle things as a couple now so that sometimes means divide and conquer." Mitchie replied honestly and seriously.

"Ok well I still think that I have the best girlfriend in the whole world. And I would really appreciate a text after you talk to her. Anyway, I better go and shower but I'll try to text you as much as I can during the day. Miss you Mitch!" Shane said.

"Miss you too, Pop star!" Mitchie whispered with tears in her eyes and hung up the phone.

After gulping down some cereal and calming down, she raced upstairs and called Caitlyn's cell phone hoping that her best friend from camp would pick up.

"Hi Mitchie, I'm actually surprised that it took you this long to call. I was expecting your call at the crack of dawn." Caitlyn said with a laugh.

"Yes well I'm trying to enjoy my last week of vacation! Plus, I would have called you an hour earlier but Shane distracted me and gave you a reprieve. Anyway, what's going on over there? Everyone's so worried about you!" Mitchie exclaimed.

"What do you mean everyone Mitchie?" Caitlyn asked suspiciously.

"Well, me, Shane, Nate, and Jason of course!" Mitchie said in a quiet voice. She was now scared of her friend's reaction. She didn't want Caitlyn to blow up at her for trying to help.

"MITCHIE! I didn't want them to know! Especially Nate!" Caitlyn exclaimed.

"Why, Caitlyn? We're all your friends! They're so worried about you! Shane wants an update via text about how you are after I'm done talking to you. They're all calling you tomorrow. They would have called today but they're in meetings. We all care about you so you just need to let us help you deal with the fact that you're leaving in a little over a week." Mitchie told her forcefully. She wanted her to understand that whether she was here or in Germany or in Timbuktu she would always have at least four friends that she could always count on.

"Really?" Caitlyn said and then proceeded to burst out into tears. Mitchie just let her cry into the phone and tried to make soothing sounds every once in awhile but for the most part just sat in silence. As Caitlyn cried Mitchie sat in her room feeling totally helpless because all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around Caitlyn and hold her while she cried. She felt totally helpless while Caitlyn was in Connecticut and she was stuck in her room in New Jersey. The light bulb went off as she was pulling lint off her jeans and her mega watt smile spread across her face.


	4. Chapter 4

Ok, thank you guys soo much for the reviews for the last chapter! I love hearing what you think :)

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Mitchie had listened to Caitlyn cry for about two hours, until she had excused herself because she had to go help her mom pack. Then she had texted Shane: "_Caitlyn couldn't stop crying for two whole hours. I was thinking I could go visit for a couple of days if my parents let me. Maybe I could help her pack and I could be a shoulder to lean on. Hope your day is going well. Say hi to Nate and Jase. _

Ten seconds later Shane texted her back. "_Let me know what they say. They say hi back! This whole day sucks! _

Mitchie smiled at the comment and then spent the rest of the day cleaning around the house counting down the minutes until her parents got home so she could pitch her idea to them. She really hoped they went for the idea because the sounds Caitlyn's sobs were still ringing in Mitchie's ears. When she heard a car pull up into the driveway she literally bolted down the stairs two at a time and skidded to a stop in the kitchen to see her mom and dad carrying groceries in.

"Hey Mitchie, what's going on?" her mom asked seeing her daughter obviously with something on her mind. Her dad just went about putting groceries away.

"So you know that I start school on Monday right and that today is ONLY Tuesday right Mommy?" Mitchie asked in a sweet voice going to sit at the kitchen table.

"Ok, what do you want? That voice always means trouble." Her mother smiled at her and started to pull stuff out of the refrigerator for dinner.

"I'm really offended at that comment! I was just going to tell you about my day and the really long conversation I had with Caitlyn today. Well, it wasn't really a conversation, she just cried for like 3 hours. Three hours, mommy, and all I could really do was listen. I just wish there was something more I could do you know?" Mitchie sighed, hoping she hadn't laid it on too thick and that her parents bought it.

"Ok and your suggestion is?" Connie knew her daughter well and knew when she was trying to get something. She was going to let this play out.

"I was thinking that, maybe, you and daddy would let me go and spend a couple of days with Caitlyn and her family. I could help her pack. I wouldn't be an imposition on her and her family I promise. I'd help Mr. and Mrs. Gellar with anything they needed to get done too as long as I got to spend some time with Caitlyn before she had to leave." Mitchie got the rehearsed speech out as fast as she could without looking at her mom who was at the kitchen counter chopping up vegetables. When she had the courage to look up she saw her mom appraising her with a small smile on her lips.

"Ok, Mitchie. If her parents say yes I don't see why you can't spend a couple of days there. You can leave tomorrow and come back Saturday so you can get ready for school Sunday. How does that sound?" Connie said.

"You're leaving me again?" Her dad pouted from his position on the kitchen counter. He had just been listening until this point. "You just got back two days ago. It's like my two favorite girls suddenly don't want to spend time with me anymore. You're always leaving me." Steve said with mock hurt and a hand over his heart.

"Oh haha daddy, it's not like I'm leaving you on purpose! I wanted to spend my last week off with you and have a sleepover or two with Sierra since I haven't seen her since the last day of school but Caitlyn's been really upset. Even though I've known her less than I have Sierra, she's just as a good a friend and she needs me, so I have to go. I have to help her!" Mitchie explained and her dad smiled at her.

"Mitchie, I know! We love how you are so loyal to your friends. It's one of your best traits. Do you want to look up train schedules before dinner so you can call Caitlyn back with a time that her parents can call you back?" Her dad said hugging her to his side.

"Yeah that would be good. I should probably find out where she lives exactly because I'm not really sure." Mitchie chuckled and went upstairs to boot up her laptop and call Caitlyn.

"So, can I come visit?" Mitchie asked before Caitlyn could even say hello.

"Did you just say could you come visit? Of course you can! Why would you even ask?" Caitlyn practically squealed.

"Probably because you have to ask your parents, dumbo!" Mitchie laughed. She was happy that she could make Caitlyn feel temporarily better.

"Oh, whatever, they won't even care, much less know that you're here! Just hop on the first train or plane and get here please. I need you!" Caitlyn was basically pleading and wasn't ashamed of it at all.

"Umm, alright, are you sure? Because, I don't want to impose, and my mom said it was one of the conditions of my being allowed to go." Mitchie haltingly explained, now so totally confused by Caitlyn's explanation of her parents that she filed it away to talk to Shane about.

"Just tell her it's fine because it is, I promise. Call me when you know the details ok? Thanks Mitch, you don't know how much this means, ok!" Caitlyn said, her voice breaking up and once again hung up before Mitchie could assure her that she would do much more for her than hop a train to Connecticut.

She hung up the phone in a daze and texted Shane: "_My mom said it was fine if I got Caitlyn's parents parent's permission but she said to just come cuz they wouldn't even notice I was there. I'm totally confused Shane. Sorry to bother you while you're working! I'm leaving tomorrow." _Shane called immediately after that text.

"Hey, beautiful, how are you?" Shane asked.

"Hi, Shane. I'm good! I'm about to look up train schedules and call Caitlyn to ask where in Connecticut she lives. Can you believe that I've known her 2 summers and don't know where she lives?" Mitchie asked him.

"Wait up a second Mitch, I'll ask Nate. He spent a lot of time with Caitlyn this summer so he might know." Shane said and for the next few minutes all she heard was muffled dialogue. She seriously thought that he had forgotten that he was on the phone with her and was about to hang up when he was back. "Hartford. Nate says she lives in Hartford. And we discussed that you shouldn't take the train up there. You should just take our private jet. It's really nice and we'd feel like we were helping her someway from across the country." Shane explained, holding his breath and hoping that Mitchie would just say yes without an argument.

That hope was totally extinguished with Mitchie's total and flat out refusal! "Absolutely not Shane! First of all, I can't believe you have a private plane. That's mind boggling. Second of all, I can't believe you would even think that I would consider such an idea. I'm not with you to take advantage of all the cool stuff that you have. The train is fine and it'll get me there in a couple of hours." Mitchie said. She couldn't really wrap her mind around the fact that she knew people that had a private plane. She was dating a person that owned a PRIVATE PLANE. Talk about living in different worlds.

"Mitch, I know you're not with me for all the stuff that comes with it. I know! We've known each other for over a year and I haven't given you a thing remember? This isn't even really for you! It's for me and Jason and Nate. We want to help Caitlyn somehow and we feel like our hands are tied all the way out here. By delivering you out there we're offering her comfort. So please just do us a favor and say yes." Shane argued, glancing at Nate and Jason to see how convincing he sounded. At their nods, he let out the breath he'd been holding and hoped Mitchie found him as persuasive as his brothers.

"Ummm-ok but only because you're saying it's important to you guys. I'd have been fine on the train. I'll ask my parents." Mitchie said. "Can I give you a call in like 5 minutes?"

"Yeah we're on a dinner break!" Shane said.

"Ok. Talk to you soon." With that, Mitchie hung up and walked downstairs as slowly as possible because she couldn't really come up with a way to ask her parent's to use her boyfriend's private jet to go see her best friend. It sounded really weird just thinking about it. Soon enough though she was in the kitchen and her parents turned to her with expectant looks on their faces.  
"Mitchie, what's going on? Did you find a train? When does it leave?" Her dad asked.

"Well you see.." And Mitchie faltered. She couldn't seem to get the words out.

"Did Caitlyn's parents withdraw their invitation, mi hija?" Connie asked.

"Oh no, they're fine. You see, I was just talking to Shane and I mentioned the whole taking the train up idea and well…you…see…Shane…no all the boys…." Mitchie said in one breath.

It took her parents a minute to decipher what she had said because it had come out in one word but once it had sunk in they fell into shocked silence. Their daughter had just asked to use a private plane. They looked at each other and wondered how things between Shane and Mitchie had suddenly gotten so serious that he was sharing his private plane with her. How had texts and emails turned into this?

"Umm and do you want to go?" Steve asked cautiously.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, Shane assured me that it was more about him showing his support for Caitlyn than me using him for the perks you know? So I guess it's ok if I use it right? I don't want to be that girl." Mitchie said coming to sit at one of the kitchen table chairs and asking for her parents' opinions.

"It's ok with us if you go." Steve said, smiling at how mature his daughter sounded but at the same time wondering how the years had gone by so quickly.

"Thanks guys, you're really the best! I don't know what I would do without you." Mitchie said, and with her bright smile ran out of the room to pack.

"Ok guys, do we have any songs that we've written and haven't told each other about that we can put on this damn blasted album?" Nate said in a frustrated voice during their dinner break.

"Umm nope, not on my part. Maybe we can put 'Introducing Me' on there Nate?" Shane suggested.

With a horrified expression Nate shook his head "Absolutely not! That was for Dana and Dana alone. Plus, there was a bunch of personal and embarrassing stuff on there."

"Speaking of Dana, you talked to her today Romeo?" Jason spoke up.

Nate just looked at him like he was talking in Japanese. "Jason, we've been in meetings all day. When would I have talked to her?" Nate asked this like it was obviously right and Jason was being an airhead again.

"I've talked to Mitchie twice actually and a couple texts too." Shane said. "You might want to find some time for her Nate. Relationships don't just sustain themselves you know and you worked really hard to get her to just let her slip through your fingers." He advised.

"Anyway, we were talking about this album before we got sidetracked guys." Nate said hoping his brothers got the hint that he didn't want to talk about his girlfriend. What could he really say? That for some reason he couldn't remember the fact that he had a girlfriend? The fact that all those butterflies that he had felt had somehow magically vanished? How could he explain that to someone else when he couldn't explain it to himself really? When he just thought/knew it was stress.

"Yeah, I have to tell you guys that I'm a little burned out. The time at Camp Rock was the first time we've relaxed in a long time and I could use a little more of it." Shane said. "But of course, if you guys want to go ahead and make this record I'm with you 100%." He hastily added.

Nate and Jason stared at him like he had just grown two heads or something. The two of them had never considered that taking a break was even an option. But why couldn't it be an option? There wasn't a clause in their contracts that said they had to continuously tour and crank out album after album.

"Wow, I never thought of that. I just really thought this was mandatory but I would really like that Shane." Nate said.

"Yeah, me too!" Jason added. "But what are we going to do? Go home to mom and dad's house?" He asked.

"No, I want to go see Dana for awhile." Nate said firmly.

"And Dana lives where exactly? Plus, have you forgotten that you're 17 Nate? Mom and Dad will never let you live absolutely anywhere alone!" Shane said completely bursting Nate's bubble.

"Oh, come on, I've been on tour for years! She lives in New York and I really want to actually spend time with my girlfriend Shane. Take her on dates." Nate was practically yelling now.

Shane stayed silent because he was remembering when he had wished that he could do the exact same things with Mitchie. Then a light bulb went off! Dana lived in New York. Mitchie lived in New Jersey. According to his parents, Nate would need someone to look after him. Maybe New York was the answer to both Nate and Shane's girl dilemma's.

"So what if I came with you?" Shane offered.

"Why?" Nate said suspiciously narrowing his eyes.

"Well you'll need someone to live with, in the parent's eyes, and well Mitchie lives in New Jersey so it works really well." Shane explained.

"HEY, while you guys are making these awesome plans, what about me?" Jason asked looking really hurt that he had been left out.

"Jason, you have a home wherever we go!" Nate exclaimed! "We just naturally assumed that you knew you were included in the plans we were making! I'm sorry you felt left out, ok?" Nate asked putting his hand on his older brother's shoulder.

"You sure though, because I don't have a girlfriend and you were making girlfriend plans?" Jason asked, still a little wary.

"Jason, you're our brother. The girlfriends may go but you'll be our brother forever." Shane said forcefully and this seemed to make Jason relax a little bit and he nodded his head.

"Ok, then so we're headed to New York. All we have to do is tell the powers that be that we're taking a break. Who's the brave soul that's taking on that responsibility?" Shane asked.

"I think it should be Jason." Nate said.

"Oh no, I won't fall for that one again." Jason said, shaking his head. "I won't do it!"

"But, Jason, we obviously hurt your feelings and we want to make it up to you by giving you a special place in the band. This news should be delivered by the leader of the group. The one that is considered the most articulate and charismatic. We believe that you are that one Jason." Nate said almost cracking up.

Shane on the other hand, who was walking behind them, almost bit his tongue off trying to keep the laughter from erupting.

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Well that's Chapter 4:)

Leave me a review and let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

First of all, thanks to everyone who has alerted/favorited this story! I'm a little in awe of how many people seem to really like this story. Second, thank you to everyone that reviewed the last chapter. I had more reviews for that chapter than any of the others before it. I always love hearing from you guys.

And third, I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to post this chapter until today. I've been really busy with school work all week but I'll try to get chapter 6 out by Saturday at the latest.

Here's Chapter 5:

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The next morning Mitchie woke up at 4:30 AM to be at the private airstrip at 5. She had told Shane she wanted to leave as soon as possible because she could only stay until Saturday and he had said that his pilot could pick her up at 5. The drive there with her dad was relatively quiet and when she saw the plane it was definitely not what she had been expecting. She was expecting something huge and flashy with Connect 3's name splashed all over it but instead it was a small nondescript plane.

Her dad gave her a hug, gave her luggage to the pilot, and left. Mitchie shyly said hello to the pilot and nervously went inside to see 8 leather seats and what basically looked like a very lavish living room.

"Take off in about 5 minutes Ms. Torres. You should fasten your seat belt. Once we're in the air, just let me know if you need anything. My name is Anna." A stewardess appeared out of nowhere and smiled at her. Mitchie smiled at her and assured her that she didn't need anything.

She spent the whole hour flight sleeping and only woke up because Anna shook her awake. She smiled at her and once she disembarked she shook the pilot's hand. Then she walked out of the little airport and immediately saw Caitlyn. Before she could do anything, Caitlyn had crushed her in a hug.

"I'm so glad you're finally here! I feel like it's been forever since I've seen you." Caitlyn exclaimed.

"Woah Caitlyn, isn't it a little too early in the morning to be this excited?" Mitchie asked. She glanced at her watch and it read 6:15 AM. Yeah, she would need lots of caffeine before she was ready to face Caitlyn's perkiness.

"Yeah, but since I had to get up so early to get you, I bought a large Dunkin Donuts coffee on the way here so I'm a little hyper." Caitlyn explained.

"Ok before we do anything else we're getting me one too." Mitchie commanded and steered Caitlyn towards her car. "So, what's on the agenda for today? Packing, girl talk, gossip, or packing?" Mitchie asked.

"Umm no to the packing! More like sightseeing and shopping! What do you think?" Caitlyn asked. And then she checked her phone. Mitchie found it odd that she was expecting a phone call but brushed it off.

"Sounds awesome, I've never been to Hartford before." Mitchie said. So after a Dunkin Donuts stop and briefly stopping at Caitlyn's house, which wasn't a house, as much as a mansion, to drop off her stuff, they left for downtown.

"Ok, so everything is probably still closed so we should just grab some breakfast and then hit the shops ok?" Caitlyn said and Mitchie nodded. Caitlyn pulled up to an IHOP and they got out.

Over a breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes and more coffee, they gossiped about camp and Mitchie once again noticed how Caitlyn was every couple of minutes checking her phone.

"So, whose phone call are you waiting for Caitlyn?" Mitchie asked after the 6th time Caitlyn checked the phone.

Caitlyn dropped the phone like a hot potato and responded really quickly; "Absolutely no one! Why would you ask that?"

"Oh come on! You keep checking it every 5 seconds. You can tell me Cait, I promise I won't tell anyone." Mitchie said.

"Oh okay, fine. So, Nate called Monday night at like midnight and I told him that it was really late and he promised to call yesterday but he hasn't yet. I guess I'm still waiting for it even though I know it's dumb to still hold out hope that he will when he's probably busy with precious Dana."

"Umm, do I have really bad hearing or was that venom in your voice Cait?" Mitchie asked cautiously. She really didn't want to open this can of worms. She had had suspicions but Caitlyn had never said anything and she had liked being clueless.

"I really have no idea what you're talking about." Caitlyn replied with her eyes glued to her pancakes.

"Ok, I'll play along because I only came to make you feel better but at some point you're going to have to deal with it Cait." Mitchie said.

"Thanks Mitch. So, what's going on with you and Shane? Are you guys nauseatingly happy?" Caitlyn asked happy to shift the topic away from her and Nate.

"Yeah, we are but he didn't call me last night or this morning for that matter. Which is kind of weird, you know, for Shane?" Mitchie said as she saw Caitlyn's eyebrows go up questioningly. "We talk several times a day, text several times a day too. So it seems weird not to talk to him, you know?"

"Yeah, I wish I could have that." Caitlyn said with a sigh and then looked off into space.

Mitchie saw an opening and went for it; "With who?"

"Na" And then she stopped dead and just glared at Mitchie. "Pretend you didn't just hear that. Better yet there's a best friend code that I'm making up right now where you're not allowed to tell your boyfriend what you might have just heard 5 seconds ago." Caitlyn said; her voice increasing as panic started to set in.

"Cait, I would never say anything to anyone else. Please calm down. You and Nate were so close this summer; it's understandable that you like him." Mitchie tried to stay as calmly as possible but she was freaking out. This spelled heartbreak for Caitlyn because hadn't Shane been telling her all summer that he'd never seen Nate so far gone on someone as he was over Dana? What was she supposed to do in this situation? Where was Shane when she needed him the most?

"Come on Mitchie, Dana's gorgeous. I've spent hours listening to him ramble on and on about her. That song he wrote for her was so beautiful. Nothing about how I feel is understandable when I know he's so head over heels in love with someone else." Caitlyn said dejectedly, stabbing her leftover pancakes with her fork.

"I don't really know what to say Cait. How can I help?" Mitchie said, her heart breaking for her friend. She felt like kicking herself. She was supposed to be making things better and here she was, making Caitlyn even more depressed than she already was.

"Well, how about you hold my bags while I shop? Its 9 now so by the time we get to the mall it'll be open. I feel like some retail therapy." Caitlyn said standing up. Mitchie quickly nodded her head and got up to follow.

About 12 hours later, Caitlyn and Mitchie returned to the mansion that Caitlyn called home laden with shopping bags. Even though they were supposed to go sightseeing they had spent the whole day at the mall, literally going to every store in the complex. When Mitchie had pulled out her wallet to pay for her purchases in the first store, Caitlyn had pushed her aside and told the cashier that they would be paying together and then handed over her credit card. This process had repeated in every store they had gone to until finally Mitchie refused to buy anything because she hated feeling indebted to people. She also couldn't understand where Caitlyn was getting all this money. Didn't Tess make fun of her that first summer for being poor?

After getting all their purchases into the foyer, which reminded Mitchie of the entrance hall from Clueless, grand staircase included, Caitlyn called out; "I'm home. We're going upstairs now." With that she turned around; "Let's go! We'll have to make a couple trips for everything."

"Umm, shouldn't I say hi to your parents? They must think I'm so rude for not doing it this morning Cait." Mitchie said grabbing Caitlyn's hand.

"Oh no, that's ok Mitchie. It's really not necessary. They really don't care about that stuff. I promise." Caitlyn was panicking again and Mitchie couldn't understand why.

"No Cait. I have to! They're being so nice having me stay plus I'm guessing they're paying that astronomical shopping bill so I really have to say thank you!" Mitchie insisted and waited for Caitlyn to lead the way.

"Ok, but you asked for it and I did try to warn you." Caitlyn said and with that she led the way to the living room. There, seated on opposite sofas with laptops propped on their laps were a middle aged man and woman impeccably dressed. They looked up when Mitchie and Caitlyn entered with twin blank expressions but did not say anything.

"Mom, Dad this is my friend Mitchie that I told you about. She's the one I met at Camp Rock, remember?" Their expressions never wavered and they continued to not make a sound.

Mitchie felt Caitlyn tense up beside her and jumped in to fill in the silence. "Thank you so much for allowing me to stay for a few days. I understand how hectic this week must be for you. I promise to be as helpful as I can." She waited for some type of welcome or a smile or at this point any type of sign of life. When she realized that she wasn't going to get anything she grabbed Caitlyn's hand and with a wave of her left hand they both left the living room.

They silently carried all the bags to Caitlyn's room which could have easily been 3 times Mitchie's and they got ready for bed without a word, Mitchie promising that tomorrow Caitlyn had a few things to explain.

Just as they were falling asleep Caitlyn's phone startled them awake. Caitlyn had it in her hands and answered it in less than 2 seconds, which amused Mitchie. Seeing her smile, Caitlyn took the phone into the bathroom without saying anything to the person on the other line.

"Caitlyn, can you hear me?" Nate was worried that she was giving him the silent treatment again.

"Hey, sorry, Mitchie was asleep. I didn't want to disturb her. What's up?" Caitlyn said softly.

"Oh ok. Not much, it's just been a really hectic twenty- four hours to tell you the truth. That's why I didn't call you yesterday." Nate tried to explain.

"Hey, better late than never, right?" Caitlyn tried to laugh his explanation away. She really didn't want to hear his excuses. "Anyway, what are you doing that's so hectic?"

"Caitlyn, I want to talk about us." Caitlyn's heart literally wanted to beat out of her chest. "I don't you to go away thinking that I don't care about you. You've become one of my very good friends Caitlyn." Her heart shattered even more than it already was with that word.

"Please say something Caitlyn." Nate pleaded.

"Yeah, Nate. Maybe I just overreacted a little bit. We're fine ok? So let's just move on. I don't want drama right now." Caitlyn said, wishing that this conversation had never happened and that she had never met Nate Grey.

"Ok, great! I'm so glad to hear that Caitlyn. So, how are you holding up? Is having Mitchie there helping?" Nate asked. He was so relieved that their fight was over and that they could go back to how things usually were between them. He had missed her these past few days.

"Umm, yeah it's been hard to tell you the truth. But having Mitchie here is really nice. We went shopping today which really took my mind off things and that helped a lot because the last thing I want to do is leave, you know. She's really become my best friend Nate." Caitlyn said and tears poured down her eyes.

"Wasn't that true since last year though?" Nate asked.

"Well, we were close but not as close as now. I've never had a friend that's dropped everything to be here for me before." Caitlyn said.

"My brothers and I would be there too Caitlyn. If you ever really needed us, we'd be there no matter where you are. I promise! " Nate said confident that he would drop everything if she needed him to be by her side. He was sure Shane and Jason felt the same.

"Thanks, Nate! That's really sweet, but I better get to bed before I wake Mitchie. Good night!" Caitlyn hung up the phone before she could give way to the sobs. How could she not fall for him when he said such wonderful things to her? How would she ever let him go?

**(San Francisco)**

She had hung up on him. He hadn't even said good night. What the hell? Nate sat on his bed staring at his phone until he heard a knock on his door.

"Hi, honey! I just came to see what you were up to." His mom came in and sat at the foot of his bed.

Nate smiled and said; "You mean you came to snoop and/or gossip."

"I just feel like I never see you boys anymore and the first time in years that you take a break you decide to go off and live in New York. I just want a reason. During dinner you and Shane were so vague and poor Jason looked too scared to speak."

"That's because our eldest son is the most likely to spill the beans on whatever little scheme the other two are cooking up. So that means, they probably made sure to explain the consequences if he slipped up and said anything Denise." His father said drily from his position leaning on the doorjamb.

Nate burst out laughing. His dad had gotten it wrong this time! He and Shane had agreed this morning on the plane from L.A. to San Francisco that telling their parents that they were relocating to be near their girlfriends wasn't exactly the best idea. They had kindly explained this to Jason and then promised to spend a whole day looking at birds with him at the New York Zoo when they got there.

"You wouldn't Nathaniel Grey!" His mother said, sounding shocked. "Shane Grey! Jason Grey! Both of you get in here right now!" His mother yelled.

Nate heard his brothers running from their rooms and skidding to a halt inside his room, in front of their mother.

"What is this I hear about threatening poor Jason into keeping secrets from us Shane?" Denise said reprovingly.

"Mom, we would never, ever, ever do such a thing. I'm offended you would think such a thing!" Shane exclaimed, biting his lip so he wouldn't laugh.

"Yeah, mom, they didn't threaten me, they told me they'd take me to see the" and then Jason stopped because Nate had launched a pillow at his head. "Ow, Nate that wasn't very nice!" Jason exclaimed.

"See, you are keeping secrets from me." Denise said and started blubbering. "When did my babies grow up and start not telling me things?" She burrowed her head in her husband's chest.

The three boys shared guilty looks and Jason yelled "Group Hug!" at which point the three boys joined their parents for a family hug. Over everyone's heads Shane and Nate shared a look and nodded at each other. When they broke apart, Nate suggested they all go downstairs to the living room and talk and his mom eagerly agreed.

"Ok, mom I'm sorry we didn't mention all this earlier but we weren't sure if you would approve or not. This past summer, there was a girl that I really liked and I asked her to be my girlfriend. She said yes but she lives in New York and I want to make it work so I wanted to move there and Shane and Jason are moving with me." Nate got it all out in one breath, hoping his parents didn't freak out.

"Oh, Nate I wish you didn't feel the need to hide this! I'm so happy you found someone that you feel happy with! Tell me everything about her!" Denise demanded.

"Well, her name is Dana and she plays the piano. Her dad is Axel Turner, the owner of Camp Star so he doesn't really approve of us dating but it really doesn't matter. Anyway, she's…" At this point, Nate got stuck. As sure of Dana as he was, there was nothing else that he could really think to say about her. Why was his mind going blank? "She's really gorgeous." He said to fill the growing silence.

"Awww, my son is in the first stages of puppy love." Denise gushed and Nate's very soul revolted against that word. That came as a shock to him, because when he was at camp he really thought that he could really love Dana but now hearing it from his mother's mouth he realized that he wasn't sure anymore. He needed to see her to get his feelings straight because they felt like they were all over the map.

"Anyway, what about you and Jason, Shane, are you just hanging out while Nate woos this Dana?" their dad piped in.

"Umm, well you see" Shane started but was interrupted by Jason; "Duh, dad, Shane's going to be spending time with Mitchie."

"Really great going Jason." Shane mumbled.

"Mitchie? Is she someone you met this summer?" Denise asked.

"Umm, well you see, to tell you the truth mom she's been my girlfriend for over a year." Shane barely whispered, not meeting his mother's eyes.

"A year, SHANE GREY! You didn't find the need to tell us that you had a girlfriend for a year, even though you've never had a girlfriend that's lasted more than, what Kevin, 4 months?" Denise yelled.

"Yeah, I think that was the previous record." Kevin said calmly. "Want to tell us why you felt the need to hide this from us, Shane? We've never been anything but supportive, even during some not so great periods in your life." Kevin reminded making Shane wince.

"I know and I can never thank you enough for that. It was never to hurt you, I promise. It was just that we were on tour the whole year and even though we were together, we never saw each other. We emailed and texted and talked on the phone but I really wanted to be sure that it was real you know? Now that I'm 100% sure, I'm telling you." Shane said looking his parents in the eyes.

"Ok, Jason anything that you're hiding from us, feel free to tell us now!" Denise said and everyone laughed.

"We're leaving on Saturday? Or did you already know that?" Jason asked as everyone laughed again. His mom nodded and shooed everybody back to bed.

* * *

What do you think?

Leave me a review and let me know :)


	6. Chapter 6

I'm sorry I haven't uploaded before this but I didn't really know how to write this chapter. I had the idea in my head but I literally couldn't get it down on paper.  
Well here's Chapter 6.

* * *

The next morning, Mitchie woke up to find Caitlyn was already gone from the bedroom. She grabbed her phone from the bedside table and groaned when she realized that it was already 9:30 in the morning. She quickly scrambled out of bed and ran into the bathroom to take the quickest shower of her life to date.

After her shower, she bounded down the stairs yelling Caitlyn's name, automatically wincing when her voice echoed in the humongous house. Caitlyn came running down the hallway from what Mitchie presumed was the kitchen and said:

"Hey, I was just in the kitchen about to have breakfast. When'd you get up?" Caitlyn asked her, leading her towards the kitchen.

"Umm, like 20 minutes ago. Why didn't you wake me up?" Mitchie responded.

"Oh it's no big deal. I just woke up myself a little before you." Caitlyn replied, but by then they had entered the kitchen and Mitchie's mouth dropped open. It was like walking into her mother's dream come true. It had every fancy appliance known to man and every cooking apparatus a 5 star chef could ever need.

Caitlyn had proceeded to sit at the kitchen counter while Mitchie was still standing at the entrance to the kitchen. Caitlyn turned to her and sighed, looking resigned.

"Alright, I'll answer any questions you have." She said in a dejected voice.

"Okay, the first one that comes to mind is: Why on earth do you pretend to be poor?" Mitchie said, walking over and sitting besides Caitlyn.

"I really don't want all the attention that Tess's money seems to attract to her. I don't want phony friends. I want friends like you and Lola and Sander that like me for me. Plus, believe me all this money hasn't really done me any good." Caitlyn said in a flat tone.

"Ok, second question and more importantly, what was up with your parents last night?" Mitchie asked gently and then quickly added just in case she was intruding "You don't really have to tell me."

"No, it's ok, let's get through this little Q&A and then have some fun the rest of the time you're here ok? I don't really remember my parents being any other way with me than the way you saw last night. We never really did the whole family togetherness thing that other families do, you know, like take trips together or watch TV or have dinner together every night. In fact, there have been whole weeks that have gone by without them really speaking a word to me." Caitlyn said. At Mitchie's horrified expression Caitlyn quickly continued; "It's just my relationship with them, Mitchie. You can't really think that every family is as great as yours?" Caitlyn asked.

"I don't really know. I never thought about it. I'm so sorry." Mitchie said hugging Caitlyn.

"Listen to me; yeah it was difficult when I was younger but now it's just how my parents and I are. It doesn't really bother me. It just sucks that I have to go away now that I have such really great friends." Caitlyn said, honestly.

"Speaking of great friends, what happened with Nate last night?" Mitchie said, trying to change the subject.

"Mitchie, that's never going to happen and we both know it. He told me what a really great friend I was. So now, I need to find a way to let him go and move on." Caitlyn practically sobbed the last two words.

Mitchie just hugged her again. What was she supposed to say to her friend? She had never really had this problem because Shane had been her first real crush and her first real boyfriend. As she held on to Caitlyn, she thanked her lucky stars that everything had just clicked that first summer and both she and Shane had been stubborn enough to make their relationship work long distance. She didn't know if she was built to handle what Caitlyn was dealing with.

After about ten minutes Caitlyn pulled away and declared "Enough!" She wiped her eyes with her hands and stood.

"You up for helping me pack?" She asked too brightly and Mitchie automatically knew she was putting up walls but she didn't want to prod too much.

"You don't have servants for that type of thing?" She replied.

"Haha, very funny!" Caitlyn said, sticking out her tongue. "Last one upstairs has to haul all the boxes downstairs." With that, she made a dash for the staircase.

"Hey, no fair! You're cheating!" Mitchie yelled behind her as she ran after her, laughing as she went.

* * *

Before they knew it, night had fallen and half of the bedroom had been packed. They had hauled over 2 dozen boxes downstairs into the foyer, and for their trouble had gotten a pursed lip glare from Mrs. Gellar who did not appreciate her impeccable house being cluttered. By the time they had brought their next box down, all the others had disappeared (They later found out the chauffeur had lugged them into the garage).

As they got ready for bed, too tired and their muscles too sore to really do anything but sleep, Mitchie realized she hadn't heard or gotten a text from Shane all day. She explained her need to make a call to Caitlyn, pretended she didn't see the pain in her friend's eyes at the indirect reminder of Nate, and was directed to one of the 6 empty rooms in the mansion (Seriously, 3 people lived in an 8 room mansion! What a waste!).

She got comfortable on one of the plush chairs of the room and hit 1 on her speed dial. Shane answered on the second ring; "I've been waiting for you to call all day!" He sounded thrilled to hear her voice.

"Really? You haven't called, have you?" Mitchie asked, worried her phone was broken.

"Nah, I didn't want to butt into best friend time so I've been patiently waiting for you to call me." Shane explained. He really had missed her voice today and while visiting his parents was really nice; his mind was constantly on Mitchie. He couldn't wait to see her face when Saturday rolled around.

"Thank you! We've been packing up Caitlyn's room all day and I got so engrossed I completely forgot about this really great, amazing, hot guy that I call my boyfriend." Mitchie said playfully.

"Oh yeah? And to what do I owe this great mood of yours?" While Mitchie was always affectionate, she was different today.

"I was just thinking about how things could have gone so different after that first Final Jam, you know? I'm really grateful we found each other Shane and I want you to know that." Mitchie said voicing what she had been thinking while she was holding Caitlyn in the kitchen.

"Me too, Mitch, me too. So you're invited to Thanksgiving dinner with the Grey's this year. My mother is very eager to meet you and Dana too, but you especially." Shane changed the subject because he really needed to see her beautifully expressive face when he poured his heart out to her.

"Are you serious? Shane, my parents will never go for me missing Thanksgiving to go all the way across the country and how do you know she's invited me to dinner?" Mitchie asked, really confused.

"Oh, Caitlyn didn't tell you? We're spending a few days with the folks. Anyway, we'll figure Thanksgiving out but she's really looking forward to meeting you." Shane explained, feeling a little guilty that he hadn't told her that he was going to San Francisco.

"Right, you're in San Francisco. Two days ago, you're in L.A. and now you're in San Francisco after a spur of the moment decision to go visit your parents. The life of a pop star sure must be grand." Mitchie said in a mock fascinated voice.

"Sarcasm really doesn't become you, you know. And rock star, woman! Get it right, for once!" Shane fake growled.

"Uh-uh! Sure! Keep telling yourself lies. Anyway, listen, I have to go because I have to call my mom for some advice. But I'll definitely call tomorrow, but if I forget feel free to call yourself pop star." Mitchie said, emphasizing the last two words.

"Everything ok? Anything I can help you with?" Shane asked, concern dripping from every word!

"I'd love to tell you, Shane but I really need to talk to my mom first and then I'll talk to you if I can, ok? Say hi to your family for me. Bye, Shane." Mitchie waited for Shane's anxious bye on the other end and then dialed her mother's number.

"Hey mommy! How are you?" Mitchie asked.

"Good, mi hija. What are you and Caitlyn doing?" Connie asked absent mindedly and Mitchie was sure that her mother was in the kitchen, cooking, with her phone pressed between her ear and her shoulder.

"We're good. We did some shopping yesterday and today we packed up her room. We're finishing it up tomorrow." Mitchie stalled trying to find the right way to phrase this. However, her mother beat her to the punch.

"Well, ok. I'm glad you're having fun but I have a sauce on the burner so I'll just talk to you tomorrow?" Connie said, in a rushed tone.

"No, no mom! I really need to talk to you right now! It's about Caitlyn and her parents." Mitchie said, almost yelling. She then clapped a hand to her mouth, realizing she could be heard by any of them if they walked by.

"Honey, can you hang on one second?" Mitchie could hear pots and pans being banged and then a breathless Connie; "Ok, I'm back. What about Caitlyn and her parents?"

"Well, I've met them. They don't speak to her, mom! She said they've spent weeks not saying one word to her. And yesterday, I introduced myself but they didn't say anything to me either. Isn't that really wrong? I really don't like them Mom." Mitchie blurted it all out and then waited for her mom's opinion.

"You've talked to Caitlyn about this?" Connie asked.

"Yeah, I have. She said that she's used to it."

"Well I assume that she would be." Connie said sadly.

"Mom, what should I do? I need your advice!" Mitchie exclaimed.

"Honey, I love that you want to help but there's nothing that you CAN do." Connie explained softly, her heart breaking for her daughter.

"Mom!" Mitchie exclaimed.

"Mitchie! You're going to come home Saturday and Caitlyn's going to leave Thursday. There's nothing you can do." Connie said firmly.

"Fine!" With that Mitchie hung up on her mother for the first time in her life.

* * *

Friday passed in a blur similar to Thursday and by 6 PM they had finished packing up the whole room. Professional movers had been coming in and out all day packing up the rest of the house. When Mitchie had suggested they let the movers do some of the work, Caitlyn had given her a death glare and that had put an end to that suggestion.

After quick showers, they decided to go out to dinner and a movie since it was Mitchie's last night in Hartford. They wore some of their new clothes from Wednesday's shopping spree, took tons of pictures, and loaded up on chocolate and carbs at the movie theater. When they got back, they crawled into bed and didn't notice that both of their phones had several voicemails waiting to be heard.

* * *

Saturday dawned dreary which is how Mitchie felt. The first thing she did was reach for her phone which read 7:30 AM. However, what was stranger than her waking up at so early were the 10 missed calls from her parents.

She slipped off the bed, which was the only piece of furniture left in the room and went into the bathroom to call her mother. The phone barely rang once before her mother picked up and exclaimed;

"Mitchie, we've been trying to get a hold of you, Caitlyn too! Why haven't you picked up your phone?"

"I'm really sorry! I guess our phones were on silent and things were so crazy we forgot to check them yesterday. What's going on?" Mitchie explained.

"We just wanted to tell you that we're on our way to pick you up. I wanted to say goodbye to Caitlyn too." Connie said, exchanging glances with her husband who was driving. "Anyway, we'll be there around 11 so be ready by then."

"Oh, I thought the plan was that I was going to take the plane down, but I'll call Shane and have him cancel it." Mitchie said. "Thanks for doing this guys. I'll see you in a little bit."

She hung up with her mother and even though she knew that it was too early on the west coast she called Shane anyway to relay the news that she wouldn't need the plane. However, to her puzzlement, he was wide awake when he answered.

"Hey! I thought you would be dead to the world!" Mitchie exclaimed.

"Nah, for some reason I couldn't really sleep." Shane said.

"Oh, okay. What are you doing?" Mitchie asked.

"I'm just hanging out in my room writing this new song. Why are you calling so early?" Shane asked.

"Oh, I just wanted to tell you that I won't need the jet today because my parents are picking me up." Mitchie said.

"Alright, I'll let the pilot know. Anyway, I better go before I lose the words. I'll call you later, ok? Bye Mitch." Shane said and hung up before she could even respond in kind.

She got dressed and packed up all her stuff making sure to not wake Caitlyn until absolutely necessary. When she finally did, they decided to go out to breakfast for their last breakfast because Caitlyn's parents were in the kitchen and neither girl felt like dealing with that awkwardness.

* * *

At 11 on the dot Connie's minivan rolled into the mansion's driveway and after Connie and Steve knocked on the door, they were escorted into the living room by the butler. There, they were greeted in a similar fashion by Caitlyn's parents as their daughter was.

Connie broke the ice first by saying; "Hello, my name is Connie, Mitchie's mom. Thank you for having her stay. It really meant a lot to her to have a few days with Caitlyn before she leaves."

Mr. and Mrs. Gellar both nodded from their respective couches. It was the only sign they made that they knew someone had spoken to them. They then proceeded to continue reading their newspapers that had momentarily been discarded when Connie had begun to speak.

Connie and Steve exchanged stunned looks of disbelief and stayed rooted to the spot at the entrance of the living room. Neither knew exactly what to do or what to say. They were saved from any further awkwardness, however, by Caitlyn's and Mitchie's arrival from upstairs.

Caitlyn practically shoved them from the living room toward the front door, apologizing along the way. "I'm so sorry about my parents. Believe me when I tell you, that's how they are with everybody. They're not trying to insult you. I'm so sorry again Connie."

"It's okay, sweetie. Stop apologizing for things that are out of your control." Connie said, taking Caitlyn's hands in her own. She then hugged her. "I wanted to say goodbye too. You have to keep in touch!"

"I promise! I'll send you recipes of all the amazing German food I'm going to get to try." Caitlyn said with tears in her eyes.

"You better." Connie said and then left the house with Steve so that Mitchie and Caitlyn could say goodbye alone.

"I don't want to say goodbye." Mitchie said, tears pouring down her face.

"I don't either, but we have to. Thank you so much for being here. It meant the world to me." Caitlyn said sincerely, doing her best to keep the tears at bay.

"Promise you'll call." Mitchie said, launching herself at Caitlyn. She held on to her, not knowing when the next time she would see her would be. Would Caitlyn come back next summer? Would she come back for college? Or would she stay in Europe and forget that she had friends back in the States?

"I promise if you do!" Caitlyn said hugging back just as tightly.

"Promise I'll see you again." Mitchie whispered.

"Camp Rock, duh! Like you can be there on your own without me!" Caitlyn exclaimed and tried to smile. She wasn't sure of the answer and she wasn't sure of the future but in her perfect world next summer would be spent at Camp Rock surrounded by her friends. Plus, she didn't want to hurt Mitchie.

"Ok. I'll see you next summer then. And I'll call you all the time. And I'll email you every day. We'll talk so much that by next summer you'll be totally sick of me." Mitchie said and returned Caitlyn's wobbly smile.

"Ok. Your parents are waiting for you. So go, already." With one final hug, Mitchie ran toward the minivan and got into the back.

"Thanks for waiting, guys." She said and looked at Caitlyn who was framed in the doorway with a miserable look on her face as she watched the minivan pull out of the long driveway and into the street. "Mom, she looks so sad!" Mitchie exclaimed but she didn't have to really say anything because Connie had already put her hand on Steve's arm.

"Steve, pull over right now!" Connie demanded. "Did you see those horrible, horrible people? And did you see Caitlyn's expression as we left? I refuse to leave her! I literally refuse!" Connie said adamantly.

"And your suggestion is?" Steve said slowly.

"We have a spare bedroom. School starts Monday so we can still enroll her and I'm sure her parents won't care if we take her in for the year. Plus, I'm sure Mitchie's all for this plan. I'm surprised she hasn't pitched it herself." Connie said glancing at Mitchie in the backseat who vigorously nodded her head in approvement.

"We can certainly ask the Gellar's. If they don't have a problem with it then I don't either. She seems like a terrific girl." With that Steve turned the car around and once again drove up to the Gellar's driveway. Mitchie got out of the car before her father could even turn the car off and literally banged down the door until Caitlyn opened it, obviously confused at seeing Mitchie.

"We want you to live with us!" Mitchie declared and then realized that that was probably not the smoothest way to make the big announcement because Caitlyn seemed to have gone into shock. Her parents had caught up with her but couldn't come into the house because Caitlyn was blocking the entrance.

"Caitlyn, honey, we need to speak to your parents. Can you let us in?" Connie spoke in her most soothing mommy voice which seemed to partially get through to Caitlyn because she moved enough to let them through but she was still in a trance. Instead of following her parents toward the living room, Mitchie stayed in the foyer with Caitlyn who didn't say a word.

The whole "conversation" between the two sets of parents took less than ten minutes and soon Connie and Steve were striding into the foyer. They both stopped in front of Caitlyn and this time Steve spoke first;

"We talked to your parents and if you want to stay with us this school year then we would love to have you. You would have your own room and you would go to school with Mitchie."

Caitlyn blinked up at Steve and then looked at Connie who nodded. Finally she looked at Mitchie who smiled and she burst into tears where she stood.

"Are you ok? Do you not want to stay with us?" Mitchie asked, concerned that maybe her friend didn't want to be parted from her family and couldn't say it.

"NO! Of course I want to! It's just that no one's really been this nice to me before." Caitlyn said through her tears.

"So we're agreed? You're staying with us this year?" Connie asked.

"Yeah." Caitlyn nodded and hugged her.

"Ok, so this totally calls for a Jason moment guys! Group hug!" Mitchie said and enveloped her parents and Caitlyn into a hug.

"Alright, while I appreciate the moment, there's a long drive ahead and we have to load the car and Caitlyn has to say goodbye to her parents. So the sooner we start the sooner we can get going." Steve said and started making shooing motions. "Where are those boxes Mitchie mentioned you packed Caitlyn?"

"Oh, I'll just have our chauffeur put them in your van, Mr. Torres. You and Connie can just hang out in the kitchen with Mitchie while I talk with my parents." Caitlyn said.

"No, no. I'll help him. We can get them in faster." Steve said and walked away with Caitlyn.

* * *

About 8 hours later, Steve pulled the overstuffed minivan into the quiet suburban neighborhood of New Jersey they lived on basically on autopilot. He'd been awake since about 3 in the morning and all three girls in the car had fallen asleep so he didn't notice the limo parked in their driveway until he tried to turn into it and realized that it was occupied.

"What the" he exclaimed loudly, slamming on the brakes and in the process waking up everyone in the van.

"What's going on dad?" Mitchie asked rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

"Do you know anyone in a limo that's supposed to be coming to see you?" Steve asked.

"Umm, no, why?" Mitchie said.

"Oh, because there's a limo parked in our driveway!" Steve explained calmly.

With that Mitchie once again clambered out of the van at the speed of light, making a beeline for the limo holding her breath and praying for it to be Shane.

The limo doors opened and the members of Connect 3 stepped out, just in time for Shane to scoop Mitchie into his arms and kiss her while twirling her around.

* * *

**What do you think? **


	7. Chapter 7

I'm sorry about the long wait, but I haven't had the inspiration to write. However, tonight I went out to the movies and after I came back I cranked out 3 chapters. Go figure :)

Here's Chapter 7! Again, sorry about the wait!

* * *

"I missed you." Mitchie whispered into Shane's neck when he finally put her back on the ground.

"I missed you too, Mitch." Shane whispered back, hugging her more tightly to him but was suddenly very aware of her father glaring at them as he started to get out of the van. "Ok so not to alarm you or anything, but I'm going to let you go because if I don't, I think your father might kill me where I stand."

Giggling, Mitchie quickly disentangled herself from Shane realizing that PDA in front of her father with her 21 year old pop star boyfriend probably wasn't the best idea. She quickly rounded the limo to hug Jason and Nate who both seemed relieved that the mushy moment was over.

"It's really great to see you guys!" Mitchie exclaimed.

"It's good to see you too Mitchie. How are you holding up?" Nate asked, concern written all over his face.

"Holding up?" Mitchie asked in confusion.

"Yeah, that's why we're here so late, Mitch." Shane jumped into the conversation and explained. "We thought you'd be upset over saying goodbye to Caitlyn so I thought we should give you our good news tonight instead of waiting for tomorrow."

As comprehension dawned on Mitchie, she sharply turned her head toward the van.

* * *

Caitlyn watched the reunion taking place in the driveway but she felt completely disconnected from it. Every time she reached for the door handle to go outside she felt an overwhelming sense of panic. For the first time that day, she started to realize the drawbacks of moving in with the Torres's, the biggest one staring her in the face right now. She'd probably have to see Nate every time that Shane came to see Mitchie and wasn't that just cruel and unusual punishment? Right now, Germany with her icicle parents was looking pretty good.

That thought was cut tragically short by Mitchie who, in that moment, realizing that Caitlyn was missing from the reunion, turned her head to look at the van. Steeling her nerves, she grabbed the door handle and got out, determined to be in control of the situation at all times.

"Hey guys! Surprise!" She said, throwing her arms above her head and prayed that they couldn't tell how phony she was being. Lucky for her, all three boys seemed so stunned to see her that they weren't paying attention to what she was saying or doing. Unfortunately for her, Nate was the first to recover, and the first to envelop her in a hug so tight she could barely breathe.

"I can't believe you're here! How?" He breathed into her hair.

"Nate, you're cutting off my circulation." Caitlyn replied softly and Nate laughed, loosening his hold considerably.

"Are you going to answer my question?" Nate asked but as he did, Jason elbowed him out of the way so that he could hug Caitlyn as well.

"Hi, Jason, it's good to see you again!" Caitlyn said.

"You too, Caitlyn!" Jason replied and then moved aside so that Shane could envelop her into a one armed hug.

"Hey, Gellar, fancy meeting you here." Shane joked.

"I could say the same thing, Grey!" Caitlyn said, with a genuine smile on her face for her best friend's boyfriend.

"While I appreciate the witty banter, will someone please explain why Caitlyn is here?" Nate cut in with an extremely agitated tone.

Caitlyn was so dazed by how Nate was looking at her as he spoke, like she was the only person in the universe that mattered, that Mitchie had to jump into the conversation;

"My parents convinced Caitlyn's parents to let Caitlyn move in with us for the year so she won't have to move away. Now that that's been explained what are you guys doing here?" She questioned, just now realizing that all members of Connect 3 should be on the West Coast, not standing on her driveway.

"I was wondering when you were going to catch on!" Shane said jokingly. "But, it seems that Caitlyn isn't the only one that's moving closer. We're moving into an apartment in the city."

"As in N-New York City?" Caitlyn stuttered and had to move out of the way as Mitchie once again launched herself at Shane with a squeal. She wished she could be that happy but her head was spinning with the implications of how close the boys would be living, and to make matters worse Nate was once again approaching her.

"So, I'm really glad that you're here to stay, Cait! It'll be nice to have you around. I know it may be weird to say, but the past few days that we've been fighting, I've sincerely missed talking to you." Nate said, and not only did Caitlyn believe him but she felt the exact same way. However, she had to let Nate Grey go and how could she do that if she just let herself fall under his spell every time he spoke?

"Uh-uh, me too, Nate." She responded vaguely, looking past him to Jason, who was staring off into space. "Excuse me for a second, I'll be right back." With that statement, Caitlyn made her way to Jason, who happily started blabbering away about something that she didn't really pay any attention to because all she could concentrate on were Nate's eyes on her back the entire time.

* * *

"Hey guys, since you've invaded my driveway, do you mind bringing some of Caitlyn's boxes inside?" Steve said, coming out of the house about half an hour after they first got in. He and Connie had conveniently slipped away after saying their hellos to the boys to give the girls a little privacy.

"Sure, Mr. Torres, we'd love to help." Shane was the first to respond but the other boys were quick to assent as well. Among all 7 them, Caitlyn's stuff was stowed into the spare bedroom and along the upstairs corridor within the hour.

"Thanks for all the help guys. There are some chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen that I just made last night. Would you like some?" Connie asked.

"Are you kidding? Of course we'd like some." Jason said and because Caitlyn was making sure to go wherever Jason did, she followed him and Connie into the kitchen.

"Dad, do you mind if I show Shane my room?" Mitchie asked, not really sure what the etiquette was for having boys over, what with Shane being her first boyfriend and all.

Steve seemed really uncomfortable with that question and the more he stalled, the more awkward the atmosphere became, so much so that Nate cut into it;

"You know what? Those cookies sound really good. I'm going to go and have some." With that he practically ran away. Shane and Mitchie exchanged looks, knowing that Nate was diabetic and wasn't really going to be eating cookies.

"Yeah, ok, but please leave the door open." Steve finally replied and with that he also made a hasty exit toward the kitchen mumbling under his breath.

With that, Mitchie grabbed Shane's hand and practically dragged him all the way upstairs into her room. She sat on her bed while he perused every inch of it, looking at pictures of her and Sierra and her and parents, touching her instruments, and stopping at the poster of Connect 3 that she had bought after that first summer of Camp Rock. It was huge and taped behind her door. After his extensive tour, he sat down at her desk saying;

"I like it! Isn't it weird that we've been together for over a year now and I couldn't picture your bedroom? It's very you."

"Thanks. Tell me though, what are you guys doing in New York?" Mitchie said.

"Nothing. We're taking a break. The album is being placed on hold until we get some new material." Shane explained.

Mitchie pulled her legs up to her chest and smiled at him. "Alright, first, you shouldn't be sitting all the way over there. Second, are you even capable of downtime? Can you just do nothing for months at a time? It doesn't really sound much like you, Shane."

Shane crossed the space to sit next to her and lean against the headboard while mulling over what she had said. He hadn't really thought of it before and now that she brought it up, his bright idea sounded a little boring. Shaking his head, he smiled at her and covered; "I won't be doing nothing. I'll be spending time with you, something which we didn't get to do last year."

"Very true, I love that we're going to be close enough to get to be a real couple from now on." Mitchie said, deciding that Shane was going to have to figure out how to spend his downtime on his own without interference from her. But, Shane was stiffening next to her so there was definitely something wrong.

"Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean we get to be a real couple now? What exactly have we been until now?" Shane asked in such a controlled voice that Mitchie turned her head to see his expression. His thunderous expression made her realize that she had made a really big mistake and that her next words would make or break the situation.

"No, Shane, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that we were apart all year and this summer was so hectic so we didn't have a chance to actually date, now we'll actually be able to do that, you know do coupley things." Whatever the right words were to fix the mess she had made, she definitely hadn't found them if Shane's catapulting from the bed was any indication.

"Wow, I thought the whole talk every day on the phone, and constantly texting and emailing was considered coupley too. The whole you've been my girlfriend for a whole year seemed coupley to me. Good to know I was wrong." Shane said sarcastically.

"Shane, why are you getting so upset? I don't really understand." Mitchie said, hoping that if he explained why he was mad she could apologize and they could move on. She really didn't want to fight right now.

"Why am I mad? Oh I don't know, probably because you just invalidated our whole relationship. While I've been so sure that I have a girlfriend and passing up on hundreds of girls throwing themselves at me, you haven't even considered us as dating. I can't believe I told my mother we were dating when you didn't even think so!" Shane spit out the last few words, his temper boiling over as he thought of how much his mom was looking forward to meeting Mitchie. The way this conversation was going, he really didn't think that was going to be happening.

"I'm so sorry that you had to pass up on so many hot groupies because of me, Shane. I didn't realize I was cramping your style." Mitchie replied, getting up off the bed too but making sure not to raise her voice because the last thing she needed was for her parents to hear her and Shane arguing. She was so fuming mad at him though that it was taking all of her willpower not to bring the house down, because he was accusing of things that were utterly untrue and being an utter jackass at the same time.

"That is so not the point and you know it." Shane exclaimed glaring daggers at her from across the bed. "Anyway, its past 1 (AM) and I'm sure we've imposed on your parents' hospitality long enough. We'd better go." Flinging that over his shoulder as a parting shot, Shane started to leave the room but Mitchie wasn't really having it.

"Oh, no, you don't! We're finishing this! You accuse me of not being in this relationship 110% and then waltz out of here? I don't think so, Shane."

"Listen, I'm mad, you're mad. We're just going to say more stupid shit and this is just going to escalate. Before it does, let's just cool off, take a breath, and talk about it tomorrow." Shane said and extricating his arm from Mitchie's grasp he bounded down the stairs to the kitchen where everyone was assembled talking about the guy's plans for their hiatus and color ideas for Caitlyn's new bedroom.

"Well guys, it's getting really late. We should probably go!" Shane said. "Thank you so much for your hospitality Mr. and Mrs. Torres."

"Shane, don't be silly. You boys should just call us Connie and Steve." Connie said, as she got up to put the leftover cookies in a plastic container that the boys could take with them.

"Thank you very much, Connie. The cookies were delicious." Jason said, delightedly accepting the container.

"Yes, thank you!" Nate said distractedly, his eyes still glued to Caitlyn who was at this moment engrossed in conversation with Steve about new bookshelves for her room.

"Oh it's my pleasure. You're always welcome here." Connie said, shooing away their thanks as she walked the boys to the door. When she opened the door, Mitchie was sitting on the top step waiting for them.

"Leaving already guys?"

"Yeah, long drive all the way to the city." Nate said and gave her a hug, noticing the unshed tears in her eyes.

"Well have a safe drive back!"

"Yeah, of course. Are you ok?" Nate whispered in her ear, so the others couldn't hear.

"Definitely! You're here and Caitlyn's here. What could be wrong?" Mitchie whispered back.

"Speaking of Caitlyn, I really need to talk to you about her. Mind if I call you tomorrow?" Nate whispered again.

"Yeah, sure, Nate you don't really need to ask. Just call whenever! You're my friend." Mitchie said squeezing his hand and with a smile moved to hug Jason. When Mitchie moved away, Nate noticed Caitlyn standing in the doorway of the house with a lost look on her face. He made a beeline for her, but as she'd been doing all night, as soon as she saw him coming she glued herself to Jason.

When he approached she was hugging Jason and whispering something in his ear that made him laugh which for some reason made him want to punch his brother's lights out. Either that or rip Caitlyn out of his arms. He cleared his throat and they broke apart.

"We need to go Jason!" He addressed his brother in a clipped tone. "I'll talk to you later right? And we'll see each other soon." To Caitlyn, his voice was much gentler but when he hugged her she wriggled out of it and excused herself, running into the house, leaving him utterly confused and hurt. However, judging by the awkward goodbye hug that Shane and Mitchie had just exchanged, he wasn't the only brother with girl problems.

With a few last waves, the boys got into the limo and drove away, destination; their new apartment in Manhattan.

* * *

Shane woke with the sun pouring into his new bedroom in his new apartment. Those words should have held more enjoyment for him, except that the second thing that popped into his head was his fight with Mitchie and bile rose in his throat. In the light of morning, he felt pretty bad about how badly he had acted. He should have tried to listen to her explanation instead of blowing up as he had. Knowing that sleep was out of the question, he slipped out of bed and walked out of his room, down the corridor towards the living room where there were two very comfortable couches, a long square coffee table, and a large screen TV mounted into the wall.

He fell into the couch that faced the two glass windows and sighed in pleasure. They had requested a view of downtown and comfy furniture. Their estate agent and interior designer had apparently done very well in the couple of days they had had to work with. He picked up his phone and texted Mitchie asking her to call him whenever she woke up or had a minute. As he was finishing up, Nate walked in the room looking about as great as he felt.

"Morning." Nate mumbled.

"Hey!" Shane responded. "What's up?"

"Didn't sleep too well. You?" Nate asked as he collapsed on the other couch.

"I had a fight with Mitchie. You have a fight with your girlfriend too?" Shane asked absentmindedly, not noticing the sharp look Nate threw at him.

"No, actually, I haven't talked to Dana in a few days. I'm just frustrated with Caitlyn. She's being all weird. It felt like she was ignoring me all night." Nate said.

"A few days? How do you go without talking to your girlfriend for a few days? And hasn't she called you?" Shane asked a barrage of questions completely incredulous because not speaking to Mitchie for a few days would be torture.

"Nope, she hasn't called me and unless you haven't noticed we've been a little busy. Plus, I thought I'd call her today so we could make plans to hang out or something." Nate said defensively and a little guilty for lying to his brother because until he had mentioned Dana, she had literally not entered his mind once.

"Okay, that's still really strange to me, but whatever works for you guys I guess." Shane offered as a way to placate his brother.

"Anyway, did you notice anything weird about Caitlyn last night?" Nate inquired.

"Yeah, sorry, bro, I was in the middle of my own little crisis to pay attention to you and Caitlyn. Thanks for asking about that by the way." Shane said sarcastically. A little thought started to form that maybe Nate wasn't as into Dana as he previously thought but he squashed as soon as it started remembering all the trouble Nate went to to show Dana how he felt.

"What are you and Mitchie fighting about? Although, it's pointless to ask, because you'll be all lovey dovey in less than 24 hours guaranteed." Nate said smirking.

"Well she said that now that I'm in New York we can be a real couple. As if we weren't a real couple before. So I got mad and might have said something about groupies." Shane mumbled the last few words.

"I'm confused. Why are you mad?" Nate asked.

"Because she basically said the past year didn't count and I even told mom and dad that she was my girlfriend!" Shane yelled, glad that he didn't have to keep his voice down in the apartment.

"Shane, you didn't see each other for a year. She was your girlfriend but in name only. As I understood it, it was a promise that you were waiting for each other. You weren't a couple because a couple goes on dates, hold hands, kisses each other. You didn't even kiss for the first time until the end of this summer. That's what she meant." Nate explained. "Oh and I think that she should totally hand you your head on a platter for whatever you said about groupies."

"Shit! Why does it make so much sense when you say it?" Shane asked.

"Because I've been given the smart genes in the family?" Nate retorted.

"Haha, how am I going to make it up to her now?" Shane whispered.

"Oh, romantic gestures are not my department. Figure it out on your own. I'm going to go call Dana. See if she can hang out tonight." Nate said and disappeared down the hall and into his room leaving a contemplative Shane behind.

* * *

Nate dialed Dana's number nervously, anxious about what her reaction to the several day silence would be.

"Hello?" A sleep thick voice asked.

"Dana? Did I wake you?" Nate asked, cursing himself for his impatience to make the call.

"Nate?" Dana asked.

"Yeah, you can go back to sleep though. I can just call you a little later." Nate said softly.

"No, no, no!" Dana said quickly and he heard rustling on the other end of the line so he assumed that she was getting up. "How are you?"

"I have a surprise. I'm in New York and I was wondering if you wanted to get together tonight. It could be our first official date?" Nate blurted it out in a hurry, a million hornets in his stomach.

"In New York? The last time we talked, you'd just gotten to L.A. Is everything ok?" Dana asked. Her confusion and concern were palpable through the phone.

"It's a really long story. Can I tell you tonight?" Nate repeated the offer and flinched when she reminded him about the last time he'd called her. How could he have forgotten to call her for 5 days?

"Definitely, even my dad couldn't keep me away, Nate!" Dana said, excitedly.

"Great. Give me your address and I'll pick you up tonight at 7:30." Nate said.

"Perfect. I can't wait to see you!" Dana said.

"Me too! See you tonight" Nate said and hung up. He walked back into the living room to see that Jason was up and watching Hot Tunes while Shane was where he had left him, just watching the New York skyline.

"Guess who has a date tonight?" Nate said.

"And guess who sent his girlfriend two dozen red roses?" Jason replied while ducking a decorative pillow that Nate sent his way.

"That was your romantic gesture? Flowers?" Nate asked, sitting down.

"Yes it was!" Shane defended.

"Okay, I can't make fun of you since I need your help with tonight. Where do I take her? What do I wear?"

"Are you a girl?" Shane asked sweetly.

"Says the guy who religiously straightens his hair every day." Nate retorted.

"Fine, I'll help you because you don't have the first clue about what's going to happen tonight. You need to decide if you want this relationship on Hot Tunes tomorrow because if you take her out then that's what's going to happen." Shane explained.

Nate looked horrified as the realization set in. "Absolutely not! We just started dating. I don't want the media tailing her everywhere she goes. But there's nothing we can do that keeps us out of the public eye. Even if I shut a whole restaurant down, the wait staff can get pictures."

"Then we'll bring the restaurant to you. We'll do it here. The view's great and you'll have total privacy." Shane exclaimed. "We can even bring the movie theater to you if you want!"

"Shane, I think after all these years I've finally started rubbing off on you. That's a genius idea!" Nate exclaimed and got up to start making arrangements. "Oh and I need you to clear out for a few hours. You can entertain yourselves, right?" He threw over his shoulder as he walked into his room to boot up his laptop.

* * *

At exactly 7:30, Nate pulled up outside Dana's building and securing a baseball cap and sunglasses over his eyes he got out. He didn't have to walk far, however, because she came bounding out the second she saw him get out and give him a big hug.

"I missed you!" She said, with his favorite smile on her face.

"I missed you too! You ready to go?" Nate asked.

"Definitely. I've been looking forward to this all day although I have to admit I've been really nervous." She confiding as the limo pulled into traffic, blushing.

"Phew, at least it wasn't just me, then." Nate replied, trying to put her at ease. "You look amazing. I'm sorry it wasn't the first thing I mentioned." She did look amazing. Her long black hair was hanging around her face, minimal make-up, and a silver sparkly dress that accentuated her figure beautifully.

"Thank you! You don't look half bad yourself, Nate." She replied, admiring his black slacks and white buttoned down shirt opened at the collar.

"Thank you! So what have you been doing this past week?" He asked.

"Nothing much, really, trying to avoid my father mostly. I've been meeting up with my school friends and catching up with them since I've been gone all summer." Dana recounted.

"Why would you need to avoid your father?" Nate asked, confused, but was interrupted by the limo which had stopped in front of their apartment building.

"Oh, hold that thought because we're here." Nate exclaimed, getting out quickly so that he could help Dana get out.

"And here is?" Dana asked, puzzled, as Nate led her into the lobby with a hand on her back.

"We're having dinner in my apartment. We haven't really had the whole public relationship discussion so I thought this was the best idea." Nate explained as the elevator stopped on the penthouse floor and the doors opened.

"Nate! This is so romantic!" Dana squealed as she saw the table for two in front of the two glass windows. All the furniture had been placed in storage for the evening and there were pink roses and candles everywhere. The New York skyline, lit up like a Christmas tree, was their background.

"I hoped you would say that. These are for you." Nate said and handed her a dozen red roses.

"Nate, they're beautiful, this is all beautiful. You really didn't have to do all this." Dana exclaimed, cradling the roses in her arms as if they were precious.

"Of course I did. It's our first date. Next time, though, fully expect a hot dog from a street vendor." Nate said trying to make her smile and his heart fluttered when her smile split her face in two.

"Deal!" She said and allowed him to lead to the table. "Hey, where are your brothers?"

"Oh, I kicked them out for the evening. The place is ours as long as we want it." Nate explained and served their entrees before sitting down.

"So you going to tell me how long you're in town?" Dana asked, as she took a bite of her steak.

"Well the story is this; we went in to start recording but didn't really have material so we're taking a break. And where better to be than here?" Nate said and reached for Dana's hand across the table which she gladly proffered.

"So you're here for the foreseeable future?" Dana asked with excitement in her eyes.

"Yeah, no one's really in a rush to start recording again." Nate confirmed.

"I'm so excited, Nate! I'd resigned myself to not really getting to see you much but now here you are!" Dana said.

To Nate's surprise, he was just as excited as she was. Now that he had seen her smile and could feel her hand in his, he felt a strong surge of emotions for the girl sitting across the table from him. Was the last week just an aberration? True he didn't feel as crazy about her as he did at Camp Rock but that was the honeymoon phase right?

* * *

This was the longest chapter so far! Plese review and let me know what you think :)

Coming up:

First day of school

Sierra introduced


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